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100% OF BANDCAMP PROCEEDS FROM THIS SINGLE will go to support the incredible work of the O+ FESTIVAL. "Bartering the art of medicine for the medicine of art." www.opositivefestival.org
I wrote this song after reading about yet another young person overdosing in our community. The article quoted a priest who said at the memorial, “We have to stop selling to our kids a false future” of “rock and roll, sex and drugs.”
Those words felt painfully archaic, though I know he meant well. I keep wondering, can I impart a more subtle understanding of where to draw the line? Our son doesn't like the line "we all start young and stupid" but I'm referring to myself there. Nobody starts life with all the answers. I believe I'm here to tell my tale because of occasional good instincts and a bit of luck.
I love Mike’s banjo on this recording, and I’m so grateful to Aoife O’Donovan and Rhett Miller for guesting on harmony vocals. The instrumental sections are extra emotional with a saxophone section by Josh Smith and hair-raising guitar notes by Connor Kennedy. The foundation of the track is held together by the amazing threesome of Jacob Silver, Konrad Meissner and Ken Maiuri on bass, drums, and keys respectively. Adam Armstrong recorded and mixed the track at our own Humble Abode Studios, with additional tracking by Robin MacMillan at Faraway Sound.
All together this track encompasses my plea, my prayer as a parent, as a caring person. I hope to ignite and fuel a tiny helpful light in this otherwise dark epidemic. With truth and love.
lyrics
POISON
If these hills could talk they would tell you I’m no angel
I’ve done the kind of things that we don’t talk about at the table
We all start young and stupid, and if we’re lucky we grow up
If you wanna play with poison you’re gonna need a lot of luck.
You gotta fall, you gotta fail, but won’t you live to tell the tale
of all the stupid things you’ve done. Oh please, don’t play, with poison.
So much pain round here and there’s not a way to numb it
Won’t somebody please just throw me a song so I can hum it
I’ll close my eyes and look inside for a light that’s inside me
No matter how dark and stormy, there’s an island on the sea
You gotta fall, you gotta fail, but won’t you live to tell the tale
of all the stupid things you’ve done. Oh please, don’t play, with poison.
Sex, drugs, and rock and roll, you can have two without the other
And I don’t believe in the gateway drug, just take a good look at my mother
You can have your pie and coffee, and just skip the a la mode
Or you can even order an ice cream, just stay away from rocky road
You gotta fall, you gotta fail, but won’t you live to tell the tale
of all the stupid things you’ve done. Oh please, don’t play, with poison.
Live hard, break your heart, but don’t lose too many pieces
Crumple up your favorite page and learn to live with the creases
It’s a risk to be alive babe, and it’s a risk to draw a breath
I hope your heart will guide you when your choice means life or death
You gotta fall, you gotta fail, but won’t you live to tell the tale
of all the stupid things you’ve done. Oh please, don’t play, with poison.
credits
released December 4, 2018
Ruth Ungar Merenda: vocal, guitar
Mike Merenda: banjo
Konrad Meissner: drums
Jacob Silver: bass
Ken Maiuri: keys
"Some of the best folk-rock music you will ever hear.” - TapeOp
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stories that are at once topical and timeless, bearing a message of hope and empowerment with a modern string-band sound.” - FreshGrass Festival...more
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